Philio Delio Foods to undertake tree planting in 6 northern schools

Philio Delio Smile Foods Company, producers of Yammi Instant Gari Mix, is to embark on a tree-planting exercise in six senior high schools in the Northern, Upper East, and Upper West regions under its project dubbed “Love the Trees, Love the Environment.”

The schools include Tamale Girls High School, Ghana Senior High School, Vitin Senior High School, Northern School of Business Senior High, Dabokpa Senior Technical High School, and Bagabaga Training Collage (BATCO).

According to the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mrs Philomena Yaa Asantewa Debrah, the project, which would be held in collaboration with the Forest Services Division of the Northern Region was not just to create affection for the love of trees and the environment among schoolchildren but to also take interest in nurturing the trees to grow.

As a motivating factor, she said the company in return would give the students some of its products to motivate them to engage in the tree-planting exercise and nurture the seedlings to grow.

Mrs Debrah said the trees, when fully grown, would not only provide shade but would also serve as wind breaks against rainstorms.
Additionally, she said the Northern Region, which was found in the savanna zone, had vegetation with sparse trees and as such it was necessary to improve on the stocking of the trees in the region with support from the youth, especially, students.

Need support

However, Mrs Debrah said due to the short rainy season and the erratic rainfall pattern in the regions with over six to seven months of drought, there was the need to harvest rain water for the growth of the plants in the schools.

Also, to prevent animals from destroying the seedlings, it was important for them to be fenced with wire-mesh, adding, “we need the support of stakeholders to be able to have a successful tree-planting exercise.”

She, however, urged the children to participate in the project with enthusiasm and nurture the trees well as part of their contribution towards the fight against global warming and environmental degradation in the region.